adminGwangju FC and Daejeon Hana Citizen, newly promoted to the K-League 1 this season, were selected as the ‘dark horses’.
On the 20th, Hana One Q K League 1 2023 Opening Media Day was held at The-K Hotel in Seocho-gu, Seoul. Coaches and representative players from 12 K-League 1 clubs attended and cast their ballots for the new season in front of fans.
Gwangju and Daejeon newly joined the K League 1 this season. Gwangju showed overwhelming results in the K-League 2 last season. They broke the record for the most wins and the most points in the league and won the championship, giving them the honor of direct promotion. Daejeon, which finished the regular season in second place, advanced to the K-League 1 through a promotion playoff against Sangmu Kim.
K League 1 teams are also wary of the challenge of the two teams that showed off their solid power in K League 2. Jeju United coach Nam Ki-il and Gangwon FC coach Choi Yong-soo, who took the last two spots in Final A last season, mentioned Gwangju and Daejeon, respectively, when asked to pick a dark horse for the 2023 season. 안전놀이터
Coach Nam Ki-il said, “(Director Lee Jeong-hyo) has competence and confidence as a coach. I heard that the players are doing well. I will pick Gwangju as a dark horse.”
Director Choi Yong-soo said, “The opponent for the opening game is Daejeon. In Daejeon, if you listen to recent stories, it seems that each player’s condition and ability are quite good. The combination is well formed, so I think it will become a dark horse.”